Illicit Famitsu scans have hit the web, showing off what appears to be Metal Gear Solid Touch for Apple's line of touch-screen devices. Konami later confirms it along with new Silent Hill and more for iPhone.

Update: Who knew you could get official word so late in the evening these days? Kotaku has confirmed with Konami that Metal Gear Solid Touch is indeed a real title in development for the iPhone. It's an original title set in the Metal Gear Solid 4 universe with 8 levels and unlockable content to decorate your iPhone with. Metal Gear Solid Touch is currently scheduled for a worldwide release in Spring 2009.

Solid Snake isn't the only Konami staple making its way to the iPhone as the announcement also contains a first look at Silent Hill: The Escape, Dance Dance Revolution S-Lite and Frogger, all three of which are due in 2008.

Original Story: On December 5, the developers behind Konami's Metal Gear Solid series, Kojima Productions, put up a new web page teasing the next installment of the long running franchise. Sporting an iconic power symbol and a shade of green that could only be described as Xbox-sheik, it lead many to believe that we would finally see the long awaited and much debunked announcement of Metal Gear Solid 4 for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Those dreams may be crushed once more should you believe recently discovered scans supposibly from an upcoming issue of the Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu Weekly, depicting Metal Gear Solid Touch for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

But does the math add up? Konami nor Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima have made any specific announcements concerning the teaser site, but it does seem very Kojima-esque to lavish the website in an obnoxious green color, only to pull a last minute swerve. What has many out there scratching their heads is an interview Kojima did with 1UP News while attending the Spike Video Game Awards this past weekend in which he said to expect more literal news in a few weeks time. Kojima is an extremely media savvy fellow and would surely know if Famitsu was ready to spill the beans less than a week from then.

1UP editorial director, Sam Kennedy, makes a good point, however, when he updated their original story on the Kojima interview to say that perhaps he was referring to the Macworld Expo, set to take place on January 5. Apple's director of technology evangelism, John Geleynse, recently told a San Jose audience that the iPhone is not in fact a phone, but a gaming console and one that posed a threat to the likes of the Nintendo DS. If Apple felt like asserting that claim, rolling out Hideo Kojima and a new Metal Gear Solid title for the iPhone at its final Macworld keynote would be a perfect way to do so.

Finally, the idea of Kojima Productions working on an iPhone title isn't much of a stretch as it'd be joining fellow Japanese developers Square-Enix (Song Summoner) and Namco Bandai (We Love Katamari) in creating games for Apple devices. If anything, it would be another case of them pushing for Japanese developers to look beyond their homeland to create for a more global audience.

Of course it could also be an extremely elaborate hoax by someone with a deft hand when it comes to Photoshop. In which case I would say, kudos to you.

Wow, I had a bunch to say to this until I read "Namco Bandai," and now all I can think about is that I swore Square Enix bought Bandai about two years ago. Or was that Taito? Nevermind, I'm getting my Japanese game companies mixed up again.

Anyway, I hope, if this rumor is true, that Kojima got a nicely sized bribe from Microsoft to develop for their petty excuse for a "gaming device"*.

* - I respect the iPhone for it's capabilities in the handheld market, but to suddenly market it as a gaming device? Give me a break.

That ridiculously borked phone is the last thing I want to see commercial games on. Apart from the absolutely absurd decision to put it onto a phone with almost no hardware buttons, they've also put it onto a platform which has an atrociously and horribly disappointingly baroque operating system, an entirely proprietary download system, no expandable memory and, most irritatingly of all, a capacitative touch screen.

I don't hate the iPhone, but I do think, having a smartphone of my own (the Nokia E71), that it isn't at all worth the fuss. I think it has some fundamental design flaws which Apple arrogantly pushed on its users. What's more, it's just about the worst gaming console since the N-Gage, which at least had proper hardware buttons, for all of its other faults.

You know, I really can't see this working. I can imagine the controls if I wanted to - one of my friends let me try out his IPhone and I can see the IPhone become more video game-friendly than other cell phones but Metal Gear has been known for alot of controls. I can't see that ever working on any phone much less a touch screen phone.

This kindof annoys me, actually. I knew that metal gear for the iPhone was a possibility, and was perfectly pleased with that, but why not port MGS1? I want a complete game, not the inevitably half-assed port of the 4th one.

The iPhone is potentially an amazing gaming device, so long as developers catch on to the MONEY TREE that the is the iTunes store.

It's got a better graphics chip than the PS2, so why not give us MGS1, or 2, or even a scaled-down 3?

The iPhone, (or iPod Touch) is gaming gold. It has the most powerful graphics card and cpu of any handheld, and the iTunes store is literally just free money. Proper mainstream developers should tap into that.

It would be so, so sweet if this didn't suck as much as it is destined to.

EDIT:

It also would've been much sweeter if they'd treat us to an Xbox 360 version. Kojima basically said "why yes, we like money, and would LOVE to have our game on a console that people actually own." Granted, i'll prolly get a PS3 when heavy rain and god of war are released, but all the same...

eggdog14:The iPhone is potentially an amazing gaming device, so long as developers catch on to the MONEY TREE that the is the iTunes store.

As you can see from my acid tongue above, I disagree completely with that assessment.

eggdog14:It's got a better graphics chip than the PS2, so why not give us MGS1, or 2, or even a scaled-down 3?

Because there's more to a good gaming platform than just a powerful graphics chip. A decent control system (or, at the very least, a working control system, unlike the one for the iPhone once you take it outside of its comfort zone) is imperative. The iPhone might have worked better as a gaming platform if they had put in some hardware buttons!

eggdog14:The iPhone, (or iPod Touch) is gaming gold. It has the most powerful graphics card and cpu of any handheld, and the iTunes store is literally just free money. Proper mainstream developers should tap into that.

The assessment of it having the most powerful CPU of any handheld is patently false; the 528MHz Qualcomm-designed ARM processor of the HTC Touch series is quite a bit more powerful than the 412MHz ARM processor of the iPhone. Also, as the HTC Touch Pro has a higher resolution screen than the iPhone, and the upcoming HTC Touch HD and Nokia N97 also have higher resolution screens than the iPhone (hell, even my Palm T|X has the same resolution of screen as the iPhone), I'd expect them to have more powerful graphics co-processors to deal with that.

My b on the processor, research probably a good idea.Still, while the accelerometer is hardly a viable control device while in motion, the touch screen works mighty well with my experience(s) thus far. People just have to be creative.

As for the itunes store being a money-tree, it IS. Super Monkey Ball SUCKED, but it broke 1 million dollars in a month. Argue the deficiencies of the device itself, but itunes is a cash cow, regardless of quality. Add that to the fact that more iphones and ipod touches are sold than PSP's by a laughable margin, and that number is growing.

I would never buy an iPhone to game, but why not have decent developement for it?

Nope, I'm happy as well (if a bit cynical). Not that I would completely hate the 360 to get MGS4, if it did then woo-hoo for them, but...bah, I can't be assed to say it all over again, I'll just say "screw you!" and be done with it.

Though I don't know why everyone's all of a sudden going up and arms in it. Though I agree, I wished for an MGS remake or something, but who knows? Kojima always likes to toy around with interesting devices, so this doesn't surprise me that much (that and it said "mgst" in the html on the teaser).

I consider myself a gaming connisseur. I own all the consoles, except the PSP for a variety of reasons, and I play all types of games, except sports games. I'm the guy that bought Psychonauts and still crippled himself just like Yahtzee asked. I'm the guy who bought Okami before that went out of print. What I hate though, is when people think it's a good idea to waste time with franchises I like(Ratchet and Clank, Castlevania) by putting them on dumb platforms like cell phones. Come on! Get to work on MGS5! If this is a hoax then I sincerely apologize. And if it's not then still heed my words!

This was seeming interesting at first but then i heard this. The gameplay is not stealth gameplay as the Iphones controls won't permit that to work well. So instead they have decided to make it a shooter game, but you can't move. so it's a stand still shooter game, not even a rails shooter. i'm very disappointed at this

I don't entirely get handheld gaming. I can't think of many situations when I'm out of the house, and I have the time and desire to load up a handheld game. Doctors waiting rooms is one. A bus/train/plane is the other. This is when I do crossword puzzles.Note: I don't spend much time on buses/trains/planes or in waiting rooms.